The race, which took place in June last year, was scheduled earlier this year to accommodate the 2013 America's Cup. The change in date meant athletes competed in colder conditions.

Approximately 2,000 people take part in the race each year, according to the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon website. The competition includes a 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz Island, an 18-mile bike race and an 8-mile run.

Alcatraz Island, in the San Francisco Bay, is known for a high-security prison that operated there for some 30 years before closing in 1963.

Officially, no one ever escaped from Alcatraz, but a handful of prisoners who attempted to escape were never found and remain listed as "missing and presumed drowned," according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.